METEORIC STONES IN INDIA. 197 



dently come within the sphere of the earth's attraction, which extends 

 to about 45 miles above the surface, and consequently fallen on it. 

 Some believe that the tail of a Comet coming in contact with one of 

 the minor Planets, or asteroids annihilates it" instantaneously. Indeed 

 in England when the Comet which was predicted to appear next 

 month was discussed, some said that if the length of the tail were to 

 extend over half the area of the heavens, the safety of our own 

 Planet would be in jeopardy. 



18. I believe that I was the first at Dhurmsalla to discover the new 

 Comet now visible in the heavens. I saw it first on the evening of 

 the 4th July, and I have met no one yet who will allow that there is 

 a Comet ; subsequent accounts in the papers prove that I was correct. 



19. Another very singular phenomenon was witnessed at Dhurmsalla 

 on the evening of the same day that the aerolite fell. This appears 

 to have been a succession of igneous meteors such as fire-balls or 

 falling and shooting-stars. 



This singular sight did not attract the attention of most people. I 

 quote the account (from the writer who describes it) verbatim : " I 

 think it was on the evening of the same day that the Meteor fell, that 

 I observed lights in the air, they commenced to appear about 7 p. m„ 

 and lasted about three hours till 10, they appeared for about one 

 minute, some for longer, then went out again, other lights appeared 

 in the same place, some times three or four lights appeared in the 

 same place together, and one or two moved oflp, the others remaining 

 stationary, they looked like fire balloons, but appeared in places where 

 it was impossible for there to have been any houses, or any roads 

 where people could have been, some were high up in the air moving 

 like fire balloons, but the greater part of them were in the distance iu 

 the direction of the lower hills in front of my house, others were 

 closer to the house and between Sir Alexander Lawrence's and the 

 Barracks. I am sure from some which I observed closely that they 

 were neither fire baloons, lanterns, nor bonfires, or any other thing 

 of that sort, but bond fide lights in the heavens. Though I made 

 enquiries amongst the Natives the next day, I have never been able 

 to find out what they were or the cause of their appearance." 



20. Verily this has been an extraordinary season in more ways 

 than one. 



21. In different newspapers I have read accounts of other very 

 extraordinary phenomena all occurring within the last few months, 



